Work Text:
When Ena had set out for Hearthome City, her father had warned to take the long way and pass through Celestic Town and Solaceon Town in order to avoid having to cross Mount Coronet altogether. Now, Ena did not exactly appreciate him finally taking an interest in her career as a coordinator only to tell her which way to take to get to the annual Pokémon Super Contest Ena was finally a finalist at for the first time. She did not appreciate that at all. So, mostly out of spite, she took off with an angry frown and a big backpack and headed straight for Mount Coronet.
In retrospect, it hadn’t been her wisest idea. She got lost several times, she scraped both her knees, and wasted half of her potions on her Koi-chan, her stubborn Magikarp who kept jumping out of his Poké Ball in a heroic attempt to protect Ena just to fruitlessly splash at the wild Pokémons that attacked them. However, once they finally reached the exit and stepped out on Route 208, Ena couldn’t help but smile smugly at the mountain behind her. That will teach her father.
She dusted herself off and tried to scrape some mud off her clothes, and then she secured her grip on the straps of her big backpack and set off towards Hearthome City. She thought the worst had been dealt with, and happily strolled towards her destination with a pep in her step, Bucchan (her creative and mischievous Smeargle) holding her hand, Koi-chan safely resting in his Poké Ball, and her cute Psyduck, Duckie, slowly waddling behind them.
Ena should have known that tragedy often strikes when you least expect it. And so now here she is, barely 2km along Route 208, her heart beating a thousand miles a minute, Duckie whining and moaning in pain in her arms, and the small bits of gravel around them hovering in the air.
“Duckie, it’s okay darling, shh, I’ve got you,” Ena murmurs soothingly. Her Psyduck emits a pained little sound, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Bucchan hides behind Ena’s back, shaking in fear.
“Aww, you named your Psyduck ‘Duckie’? Ain’t that cute?”
Ena whips her head around to glare at the newcomer and warn them to stay the hell away, but ends up gaping instead. Even though she has never met them before, Ena knows this person. She knows them so well.
“A-Akiyama Mizuki? Consecutive three-time winner in the Cuteness category?”
The girl smiles brightly, both pleased and surprised at being recognized.
“In the flesh!” She exclaims, doing a pirouette and a little curtsy in Ena’s direction. A movement in the tall grass behind Mizuki makes Ena gasp in excitement.
“Oh, and that’s Sylvie! She’s famous too.”
The Sylveon behind Mizuki also bows her head at Ena, just like a well-trained Super Contest winner would.
Ena has a lot of questions for the current reigning champion, whom she has admired from afar for the past three years, but she is highly aware that her Psyduck is currently a ticking time bomb.
Quite literally.
“You need to get out of her-”
“Are you also a coordinator?” Mizuki asks at the same time, and Ena nods, suddenly feeling a bit shy. After all, this is the Akiyama Mizuki—Ena wasn’t mentally prepared to meet her yet. She would be lying is she said that one of the reasons she has been so excited about the tournament was the prospect of finally meeting her. Ena was hoping to make a better first impression, though.
Mizuki claps her hands in excitement, beaming at Ena so brightly that Ena almost forgets their current predicament. She even blushes, quite embarrassingly.
“Oh, then you’re going to be my competition tomorrow!” Mizuki exclaims, and Ena has barely any time to think of a reply, for Duckie whimpers pathetically and all of a sudden a deafening sound makes her ears ring. She instinctively squeezes her eyes shut, hugging Duckie closer to her chest. Once she opens her eyes again, Mizuki is gone. Her Sylveon is still in the same spot, and is staring at Ena with her tail between her legs.
Ena looks around, desperately searching for Mizuki (did her Psyduck just evaporate the current Pokémon Super Contest undefeated champion? Ena can already see the news headlines) and finds instead a small Zorua, clearly not from Sinnoh, at least based on its atypical coloration and overall anatomy. The little thing is shaking like a leaf on Ena’s right, and she instinctively reaches out with a hand.
“It’s okay… Who are you, hmm?”
“Yeah so, that would be mine,” Mizuki’s voice rings loud and clear, and Ena whips her head back and forth, looking for its source.
“Hello? Up here?”
Ena looks up, and her hands come up to her mouth to muffle a surprised gasp. Mizuki is floating right above her, and is looking at Ena with an unimpressed expression, her eyebrows knit together and her lips pursed. Like this is Ena’s fault. The more she looks at her, the more pissed off Ena gets.
“I tried to warn you to stay away!”
“Yeah, you were very clear,” Mizuki retorts sarcastically, and Ena glares at her.
“Oh fuck off,” she bites out, flipping Mizuki off for good measure. Oh, maybe she shouldn’t have done that. She waits for Mizuki to get angry at her, but Mizuki suddenly smiles instead—no longer annoyed, she now looks almost intrigued. She spins around in the air and gets comfortable, almost like a little girl lying prone on her bed and kicking her legs.
“You’re interesting,” she says, smiling down at Ena and propping her chin on her hands.
“What-”
Duckie whines, and Ena looks down at the Pokémon in her arms as her stomach drops.
“It’s okay, you got this, it’s gonna be okay…”
“Why is your Psyduck so tense anyway?”
Ena glares briefly at the girl floating above her before focusing back on the problem at hand.
“I think the trip through Mount Coronet put some… mental strain on her. And you know how Psyducks get when their headaches get worse.”
“Oh, you mean we could all blow up?”
“Psy!” At Mizuki’s words, Duckie starts struggling to get free from Ena’s hold.
“SHUT UP! Don’t say the words,” Ena covers Psyduck’s ears and mouths the next two words at Mizuki, “blow up in front of her!”
Mizuki giggles, utterly amused instead of terrified like a normal person. Maybe there’s less oxygen up there and that’s why Mizuki is acting like a lunatic.
“You guys are funny.“
“There’s quite literally nothing funny about this situation,” Ena rebuts through gritted teeth.
“Didn’t say there was.”
“Tch.”
Ena takes a deep breath. Ignore the idiot, ignore the idiot, ignore-
“So, what’s your name? You know mine but I don’t know yours, that hardly seems fair...”
Ena lets Duckie go and helps her stand up in front of her. She takes her little hands in hers and slowly breathes in and out, trying to help her even out her breathing.
“Ena,” she replies distractedly. “Alright Duckie, copy me. One, two. One, two.”
“Nice to meet you, Ena.”
“Yeah, sure, likewise.”
Ena keeps on breathing evenly, but Duckie isn’t calming down at all.
“Oh, look at that! Our little companions seem to be fraternizing.”
At Mizuki’s words, Ena turns around and sees that Mizuki’s Sylveon and Zorua are now politely sitting by a nearby tree and “chatting” with Bucchan.
“How cute,” Mizuki comments, looking at them fondly. “Sylvie! Blanc! You having fun, mes chéris?”
Mizuki’s Sylveon and Zorua excitedly wave up at their coordinator before making playful, demanding noises at Bucchan, who closes his eyes briefly before he starts painting a large bow on Sylvie’s side.
“Hmm,” is all Ena replies before turning back to study Duckie’s suffering face.
“So! I have never seen you at the Contest, is this your first time? I think I would remember your face~”
Ena frowns at the ground. Is Mizuki… Flirting? She can’t really tell. Ena has never been good at picking up on these things. She prefers clear and direct communication over little innuendos and micro-expressions. But there’s just no way Mizuki is flirting with her right now. For one, she’s covered in mud, and her hair is a mess. Not to mention the fact that she can’t even calm down her own Psyduck and she’s looking like a fool and an idiot and an incompetent and Akiyama Mizuki, defending champion in the Cuteness category, would never hit on another competitor—she probably has dozens of fans waiting for her at the Super Contest Hall. Fans who aren’t covered in mud and haven’t flipped her off and snapped at her multiple times and who want nothing more than to woo her and impress her and get her attention.
“Yes, it’s my first Contest.”
“Category?”
Ena can’t believe Mizuki is still acting so casual in such a situation. Weirdo.
“Coolness with my Smeargle and Cuteness with Duckie.”
“Oh, then we’re rivals rivals! I signed up my Zorua in the Coolness category for the very first time. And of course, Sylvie and I will be defending our title as Cuteness champions.”
Ena makes a noncommittal noise. Who cares right now? They’re minutes away from disaster.
“Have you ever been to Hearthome City?”
Ena tries to pet her Psyduck’s dark hair, but immediately hisses and retracts her hand in pain—the force field around her is growing too strong to safely get near. Not good.
“Enaaa,” Mizuki whines petulantly, with a bit too familiarity for a total stranger in Ena’s opinion, “answer me…”
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if you have ever been to Hearthome City.”
Ena is too distracted to properly pay attention to Mizuki—not only is her Psyduck not calming down, but the bushes to her left keep moving and Ena is very scared a wild Pokémon is going to jump out and set Psyduck off once and for all.
“Ah- no, I have never been- Wait, why is this of any relevance? Do we have to make small talk right now?”
“Why do you think this is small talk?”
Ena looks up at Mizuki and finds her slyly smiling down at her and happily kicking her legs like a little kid.
“This is the very definition of small talk.”
Mizuki places a finger under her chin. “Hmm… I think small talk is when you meaninglessly chat about something trite and superficial with no real point other than moving social interaction along.”
“Ha?!”
“What I mean is that I’m not making small talk, because I have a goal.”
“So why don’t you cut to the chase and spare me the headache?”
Mizuki tuts patronizingly. “Patience is a virtue, Ena.”
“You know, you didn’t strike me as this annoying when I was watching you on TV.”
Mizuki’s smile widens as Ena angrily sighs through her nose, ticked off beyond belief.
“Oh? Is that so?” Mizuki asks smugly.
“Yes.”
Ena turns around to tend to Duckie, who is now sweating profusely. The rustling in the bush next to her intensifies.
They’re doomed.
“Did you think I looked too cute to be annoying, then?”
“Yes,” Ena replies without thinking, and immediately bites her tongue. Her face feels warm.
“Ooh, I see…”
Ena looks up to meet Mizuki’s smarmy smile and flips her off again. Mizuki laughs and Ena is this close to grabbing one of the small rocks floating all around her and throwing it at the idiot’s face.
“Shut up,” She grumbles through gritted teeth, looking away from Mizuki before her stupid face betrays her by actually smiling back.
“You don’t want to know my goal in asking you questions then?”
“Sure, why not, it’s not like we’re in a life-or-death situation here.”
“Hmm, thought so!” Mizuki chirps.
Ena groans and rolls her eyes. “You’re really-”
“So! Anyway! I guess I wanted to know if you have ever visited so that once this whole thing blows over (hehe~) maybe I could show you around? We could get dinner.”
“Dinner? Why would we have dinner together?” Ena replies absent-mindedly, reaching forward to tentatively pet Psyduck’s hair one more time. She feels less resistance than before—definitely a good sign.
“Oh Ena, take a hint.”
Ena’s head snaps up in indignation and finds that Mizuki is looking down with some frustration in her playful eyes.
“Excuse me?!”
“I’m asking you to dinner,” Mizuki says slowly, punctuating each word like Ena is five.
“I got that?”
Mizuki makes an exasperated noise, but Ena has barely any time to flip her off a third time for being impossibly annoying, because the bushes to her left shake one last time and a Mimikyu jumps out.
“Gah!” Ena yelps, causing Duckie to get startled as well; the ground around them shakes violently. Oh no.
“Ah, Mimicchi! There you were! Up here little one!”
The Mimikyu seems to look up at Mizuki and waves a dark, ghost-like paw. Now that Ena is looking at it properly, she can tell it’s not wild at all—the costume it’s wearing is higher quality than in wild Mimikyus, and it has a cute ribbon tied around a floppy ear.
Ena tentatively reaches out to the little Pokémon right as Mizuki speaks.
“Don’t be scared, she’s a sweetheart-”
Ena barely even hears her—the ground is still shaking and her ears are ringing. She is not sure why Mizuki stops talking all of a sudden, but it doesn’t really matter. Mimikyu scuttles in her direction and places her ghost-like paw over Ena’s. The sensation is odd, almost unsettling, but Ena is not thrown off at all, and finds herself smiling at the little critter.
“You scared me for a second there,” she murmurs kindly, “But you’re such a cutie, aren’t you?”
Mimikyu makes a noise that sounds almost bashful—Ena finds it adorable. Then, out of nowhere, Mimikyu suddenly reaches for Duckie with another dark arm. Before Ena can even register what is happening, Mimikyu’s grip on her hand tightens, and somehow, Ena understands she is asking her to trust her. She nods at the little Pokémon, and only after that, Mimikyu glows bright before everything goes suddenly dark.
When she finally comes to, she’s lying with her head pillowed on something soft, and there is a sharp pain in both her temples.
“Oh, good morning princess,” Mizuki’s now-familiar voice lilts, and Ena groans in reply.
“My head,” she whines, pressing the balls of her hands against her eyes. Then, her stomach drops and she springs into a sitting position.
“Wait, is everything okay- where’re my Pokémons? Why are you not floatin- Are we dead?!”
“Relax,” Mizuki’s voice soothes her from behind, “We’re all very much alive.”
Mizuki’s hands settle on Ena’s shoulders to push her back down, and Ena finally realizes she had been lying with her head on Mizuki’s thighs, who’s kneeling on the soft grass and smiling down at Ena in a way that is making Ena’s legs feel weak. Though that might be on account of the fact that she has just fainted. Maybe.
“Wait, what happened?” Ena finally manages to stammer out.
“Mimicchi cast Light Screen to shield us and then Thunderwave; I guess that finally set your Psyduck off. The damage was significantly contained, but you were closest so you got the brunt of it and fainted. Everyone is fine, though, don’t worry—look, Duckie is all good and dandy now, she’s playing with the others.”
Mizuki points to their right, where Duckie is happily jumping around with everyone, Koi-chan included. Ena clicks her tongue—that little rascal really needs to learn to stay inside his Poké Ball, at least until he evolves and can take better care of himself.
“Sorry about this whole… Mess,” Ena sighs, turning her head to look up at Mizuki once more, “Also, sorry about my Smeargle panting all over your Pokémons.”
Mizuki waves her hand around dismissively. “I think they asked him, so it’s all good.”
Ena hums noncommittally. A sharp pain in her temple makes her flinch.
“Ngh, my head is killing me.”
“I guess that would make sense.”
Ena looks up into Mizuki’s amused eyes and feels something warm bloom in her chest—that is, until she finally remembers how insufferable and, let’s be honest, reckless Mizuki was being earlier.
“Wait, could you tell me again why you were being so annoying and asking me so many inane questions while we were about to blow up?”
Ena did not expect that her question would fluster Mizuki, and she finds herself frowning, utterly confused, as Mizuki blushes beet red and averts her gaze, swallowing loudly.
“What-”
“Dinner!” Mizuki croaks out, loud and awkward, “That’s it. I was asking you to dinner.”
“Again, why would you want- oh.”
Now it’s Ena’s turn to blush and look away.
“I see,” she mumbles, all too aware of the feeling of Mizuki’s warm legs pillowing her head.
“Yeah.”
They stay quiet for a few seconds, neither of them daring to speak. Mizuki’s hands come to rest on Ena’s shoulders and squeeze lightly. Ena looks up.
“Hungry?” Mizuki asks, looking endearingly insecure, yet determined. Ena can’t help but smile.
“Starving, actually. Know a good place?”
Mizuki exhales, both giddy and relieved.
“I know a pretty romantic one just near the Hall.”
“Perfect.”
“Ah, but you need a shower first. You’re covered in mud.”
Ena reaches up and pinches both of Mizuki’s cheeks—for some reason, she already feels familiar enough with her to do this.
“You really are incredibly annoying, huh?” She grumbles as she stretches the skin of Mizuki’s cheeks over and over.
“You’re still coming to dinner though, right?” Mizuki mumbles, almost unintelligible because of how much Ena is jerking her around.
“Yes. And you’re paying.”
Mizuki gasps, affronted. “Hey! My Mimikyu just saved your life! Halfsies?”
“I had the situation under control!” Ena barks out, crossing her arms over her chest. Mizuki rolls her eyes.
“If you say so…”
“I do.”
Ena glares at Mizuki until the girl sighs, defeated. “Fine. I’ll pay.”
“Hmph, you’d better. The one asking for a date should be the one paying, after all. It’s basic etiquette.”
“Alright. Then I guess you’ll pay for the next one.”
“Ha?!”
“I mean, have you seen me? I am, quite literally, the reigning, undefeated champion in the Cuteness category, meaning I’m the cutest girl in all of Sinnoh-”
“You mean your Sylveon is,” Ena corrects her with a frown, but Mizuki keeps speaking over her, raising her voice.
“-ergo, all things considered, there’s no way you won’t be begging me for a second date by the end of the night.”
Ena clicks her tongue. “Let me make one thing clear. You are going be begging me, not vice versa.”
“Bet?” Mizuki grins, her eyes glinting competitively.
Ena accepts the challenge with a self-assured smile.
“Bet.”